Rental Cars Missing Airbags Hit Used Lots

(CBS)  Imagine buying a car only to find out that one of its safety features is missing. That's exactly what's happened to thousands of unsuspecting consumers who have purchased the popular Chevy Impala as used cars, reports "Early Show" Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen.

The says the Impalas in question were at one time part of a car rental fleet. The safety equipment that's missing is the side airbags.

But, as her team found out in a hidden camera investigation, many of these cars are sitting on used car lots -- up for sale -- with window stickers that claim the cars have those side airbags.

Side airbags are standard equipment on the Chevrolet Impala -- but thousands are being sold without this important safety feature.

On used car lots in three states, "The Early Show"'s hidden cameras found Impalas advertised with side airbags. However, in reality, those airbags were missing, Koeppen reported.

That's was the case when Connie Wittkopp purchased a used Impala from Enterprise in Kansas City. The paperwork said side airbags were included.

Wittkopp told Koeppen, "How could they have a clean or clear conscience knowing that they're going to sell that car to someone who could go out here and get killed?"

Wittkopp had no idea her car was part of a deal where General Motors allowed rental car companies and fleet buyers to delete side airbags at the factory to save money.

Now, more than 100,000 Impalas without side airbags are making their way into the used car market.

Sean Kane, a safety consultant from Safety Research and Strategies, a safety advocacy group, said, "In all the years of our work in motor vehicle safety, we have never seen a standard feature deleted from a car in this kind of way."

Kane said he was shocked to discover side airbags deleted and replaced with plastic. Kane said the effort saved fleet buyers $145 per vehicle.

"This was a concerted effort by General Motors to give fleet customers an option of saving $145 at the expense of safety," Kane said.

Wearing a hidden camera, "The Early Show"'s team went to several used car lots across the country that advertised the Impalas in question as having side airbags. Koeppen said they wanted to see what consumers were being told on the lot.

An "Early Show" producer asked a salesperson if one of the Impalas in question featured side curtain airbags.

The salesperson replied, "Yes, it does."

In Houston, Texas, another salesperson didn't realize the airbags had been deleted.

But Koeppen said her team knew side airbags had been when they found the deleted option code "AK5" on the vehicle identification plate in the trunk. The door trim was also missing the word airbag, which the salesperson eventually noticed.

The salesperson told "The Early Show" team, "This one actually does not have it, doesn't have the side impacts on it."

"The Early Show" producer asked, "It doesn't?"

The salesperson confirmed, "It doesn't."

In Oklahoma City, Koeppen's team found another Impala with deleted airbags, a salesperson told "The Early Show" producer that, in fact, the car did have the airbags. The car's window description listed "passengers front airbag and side airbags."

And in Providence, R.I. the CBS affiliate, WPRI, went undercover with the same result. The salesperson said at that dealership, "They said that there's airbags in there."

Kane said, "To see them being sold in dealers, in many cases unknowingly, is a really a problem that goes back to General Motors."

As for Enterprise, the company offered to buy back their vehicles for $750 over the Kelley Blue Book value, or pay $200 for the customer's inconvenience. Enterprise told "The Early Show" it would give Wittkopp full value for her car, but she's still angry.

"People's lives they're worth a whole lot more than just saving money by leaving stuff off the vehicle," she said. "No, you don't do that."

Enterprise, which admits it incorrectly listed some of these cars on its Web site for sale with side airbags, says, "We have apologized for the error we made, and we have done, and continue to do, what we can to rectify the situation with our customers."

General Motors says these vehicles "meet or exceed federal safety standards." The company no longer allows airbags to be deleted.

Koeppen added on "The Early Show" that General Motors has sent out a message to dealers saying they should change their window stickers, advertising and Web sites to reflect the airbags in the cars.

Koeppen said each dealership was told about "The Early Show" investigation and were told what the teams found. However, she said one dealership still has not changed their Impala advertising.

Koeppen advised, "So if you're buying a used car -- any used car -- make sure you do a really thorough background check on the car."

[toplinecar]

Thanks for the great post.Airbags were invented to keep people safer during vehicle accidents, with the first airbags placed on the driver's side only.
<a href="http://www.toplinecar.com/browse_car.php">Second Hand Cars</a>

[jbryan121359]

Fleet buyers deleting standard equipment that is not required by law is commonplace. Government agencies, utilities, rental agencies and other fleet buyers negotiate these terms and have been doing so for a very long time. I bought a 1993 Subaru that had been part of a government fleet and did not have a driver air bag because those airbags were not mandatory in 1993 - it had a seatbelt on a mouse, which was required if there were no airbags. These cars can often be identified because they have cheaper interior materials and are missing exterior trim. Used car dealers buy cars at auction and often rely on a list of standard equipment provided by public websites. It would be very difficult to prove intent to defraud under such circumstances, so the buyer has to be aware that the vehicle will have tags or embossing that show where the airbags are. If there is no tag on the side of the seatback, there are no side airbags. If you are concerned about buying a fleet vehicle that might be missing otherwise standard equipment, pay for a "vehicle history report" from a company like Autocheck or Carfax (or ask your dealer to do so, although they are not required to do it). That report might also help you identify a vehicle that has been in a serious wreck and rebuilt as well.

[stryker54]

big deal, you think air bags are going to save you if you get in a real bad accident. You can still die in a car with all the safety features. just takes 2 idiots behind the wheel that don't know how to drive. And yes I will say that, I have been driving for over 40 years, started out with a 51 chevy P.U. with no safety features and to this date never had an accident. it's called defensive driving which few people even know how to do seeing what is going on in the streets. all I have seen in the last 30 years is more cars and lousy drivers that break all the rules of the road.I could care less if cars even have seat belts, I don't plan on hitting anything and I do drive responsibly when most don't. 2nd thing is seems everyone wants the govt. to protect them from their own stupidity.

[ge556]

My son was hit by a drunk driver, and his seat belt and front airbag saved his life.

[stryker54]

there are exceptions, but my question would also be what time did this happen, and if it was early in the morning, like when bars close, why be out. your just looking for trouble there. there will always be excuses people make, but being a defensive driver will keep you out of trouble and if you obey the rules of the road and learn to drive in a responsible way. I would bet 99% of the drivers shouldn't be behind the wheel. Hope your son is okay.

[HoustonMo]

I agree wholeheartedly with holalanemeir. Enterprise is the worst, they will let nothing get in the way of the bottom line! While I'm shocked that any rental car company would do something so underhanded as to delete standard safety equipment from their vehicles, the fact that it's Enterprise surprises me less. I would also like to know if this was the practice at any other rental car company though. How are we as consumers supposed to know that STANDARD safety equipment doesn't exist in a car when we rent it? I also agree and wish that attorney generals in the states where they do business would open investigations into not only this practice (since this might not have technically been illegal) but other practices by this company. Enterprise is still a "family owned business" too. Makes me wonder how the Taylor family lives while their employees are forced to work overtime with no compensation and their customers drive around, unaware that safety devices they assume are in their rental cars actually are not. I'm sure there will be a bevy of attorney's researching anyone killed in an Enterprise rental car from a side impact collision. That should keep Enterprise on it's toes for a few years...I hope!

[NM Glider Pilot]

You still have front air bags. Many cars are sold all the time with no side air bags, so not a big deal. The point I find totally WRONG is the misleading advertising saying that there ARE side air bags when in reality they are not there. Deceptive advertising by the used car lots - that's where the WRONGNESS is here - not GM or Enterprise.

[holalanemeir]

Actually the side airbags were a standard safety feature on Impalas starting in 2006. If Enterprise specified the deleted side airbags from the manufacturer to save money and THEN said they had airbags how would you feel as a renter or final purchaser?

[NM Glider Pilot]

You still have front air bags. Many cars are sold all the time with no side air bags, so not a big deal. The point I find totally WRONG is the misleading advertising saying that there ARE side air bags when in reality they are not there. Deceptive advertising by the used car lots - that's where the WRONGNESS is here - not GM or Enterprise.

[geomom]

Buyer beware? How about renter beware? Knowing that Enterprise took this calculated measure to reduce the safety features in their rental cars, why would I ever want to rent a car from them? Do other car rental companies engage in this practise? I don't want to rent cars from them either.

[holalanemeir]

Actually Enterprise is one of GMs largest corporate customers, so Enterprise demands the manufacturer to supply "airbag deleted" cars to save a measly $150-200. GM is too afraid to loose such a large client so they comply. It should surprise no one that at the end of the rental life the units are sold wholesale and individually to an unsuspecting public. Unfortunately this is just another day of shoddy operations at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. To them customer service to means lying to customers about available cars, rates and mileage fees-just to keep them from going to another vendor. They push their employees to sell worthless insurance or damage waiver on a captive customer. They don't pay employees overtime, and routinely bypass basic regular maintanence for additional rental revenue. You wouldn't believe the number of times rental damages were intentionally billed to customers months after the contract was closed in order to get a higher margin on a resale of the unit. I hope Congress or the Attorney Generals in each state where they operate are investigated completely, thoroughly for their deceptive and shady practices. My best advice is don't rent from them.

[newsworthy8]

What....this is America, this shouldn't surprise people.